Liquid trap

ABSTRACT

Liquid trap for use in vacuum systems where liquid flow is induced by the application of a vacuum, for the purpose of preventing accidental flow of liquid to the vacuum source. The trap incorporates a chamber connected in the vacuum line, and having an automatic drain valve closed by the application of the vacuum and opening when the vacuum is terminated, the chamber being also provided with an additional safety valve closing the vacuum line if any small quantity of liquid should escape from the chamber into the vacuum line.

United States Patent [72] inventor Robert Edward Hooper Oakville,Ontario, Canada 830,072

June 3, 1969 Aug. 24, 1971 Torginol mam Incorporated [21 1 Appl, No. 22Filed [45] Patented {73 1 Assignee [54] LIQUIDTRAP 8 Claims, 2 DrawingFigs.

[52] U.S.Cl. 137/107, 137/205, 137/204, 137/199 {51] Int. Cl. F161 l/18[50] Field ofscarch 137/107, 205, 202, 204, 519, 520, 199; 141/59,103/236 [56] Refer-cum Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,714,300 5/1929Denney 137/519 3,002,523 10/1961 Rabbitts 3,424,098 H1969 Bender 103/236X FOREIGN PATENTS 405,385 2/1934 Great Britain 137/202 884,506 4/1943France 137/205 684,153 4/1964 Canada 137/205 Primary Examiner--AlanCohan Attorney-George A. Rolston PATENTEU Aus24 l97l SHEET 1 BF 2Inventor ROBERT EDWARD HOOPER LIQUID TRAP This invention relates to atrap for liquids such as water and the like for use in vacuum systems,and finds its principal application in systems for dispensing hot andcold beverages in automobiles, utilizing the vacuum induced in theinduction manifold of the automobile engine.

In beverage dispensing systems of this type, the vacuum induced in theinlet manifold of the automobile engine is utilized to draw a liquidbeverage, such as water, or some beverage flavoring in liquid form froma storage container in the trunk of the automobile, through a system ofpipes, into the passenger compartment of the automobile where it isdispensed into a cup. Various safeguards are designed into thedispensing system itself, and particularly the dispensing head locatedin the passenger compartment usually under the dashboard, for preventingany such liquid being carried over into the tube connecting the systemto the inlet manifold. In addition, it has been the practice in the pastto provide a crude form of liquid trap between the remainder of thedispensing system and the inlet manifold. Such a liquid trap consistedessentially of a large glass bottle having a removable cap, and thevacuum tube system was connected, through the cap. The tube was simplycut and connected through two separate holes in the cap, and as thevacuum was applied through one tube, it exhausted the air in the bottleand induced a vacuum in the other tube. Obviously, any water which mightaccidentally be carried over through the one tube connected to thedispensing head would be trapped in the glass bottle and not carriedover into the other tube.

Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pats. No. 3,168,914 and 3,467,230.

There are certain disadvantages inherent in such a relatively crudeliquid trap. For example, it was generally necessary to provide a glassbottle of fairly substantial size since the average car owner mightcheck the contents of the bottle fairly infrequently with the resultthat it was necessary to provide it with a fairly substantial capacity.The mere size of the glass bottle form of trap made it somewhatdifficult to install in smaller sizes of automobiles, bearing in mindthat the glass bottle and supporting system were installed in the enginecompartment of the automobile. In addition, the size of the bottlecaused the development of relatively substantial stresses in the bottle,the pressure per square inch on the outside of the bottle obviouslybeing increased as the size of the bottle increased. This resulted in aserious danger of implosion which could only be avoided by making thebottle of a very substantial thickness, requiring custom moulding atconsiderable expense. A further disadvantage lay in the fact that if thebottle contained a substantial volume of liquid, although was not yetfilled to capacity, the motion of the automobile caused the liquid tosplash within the bottle, and there was a tendency for small droplets ofliquid to be carried over into the inlet manifold thereby causing damageto the engine.

It is therefore a general objective of the present invention to providea liquid trap for vacuum systems which incorporates self-draining means,which is of reduced size, enabling it to be fitted in any part of theautomobile, and making it resistent to implosion.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide a liquid trap having the foregoing advantages which isadditionally provided with safety valve means making it resistent tocarrying over of liquids by splashing or the like.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide a liquid trap having the foregoing advantages incorporatingmeans for reducing turbulence of liquids flowing therein.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide a liquid trap having the foregoing advantages incorporatingdrain valve means permitting the same to drain automatically as soon asit contains a predetermined excess quantity of liquid.

In a general way, the invention provides for certain of these advantagesby the use of a small size container having upper and lower ends, theupper ends being provided with two conduits communicating with theinterior of the container, one of which is connectable to the source ofvacuum such as the inlet manifold and the other of which is connected tothe liquid system such as the beverage dispensing system referred to. Atthe lower end of the container there is provided a drain port covered bya simple form of closure flap, of such a weight and area as to be closedautomatically upon the application of the vacuum to the interior of thecontainer, but opening upon the container being filled with apredetermined quantity of liquid. Additionally, a safety valve ispreferably provided in communication with the vacuum conduit which isadapted to remain open during normal operation but to closeinstantaneously upon any small quantity of liquid trying to enter thevalve. Preferably, there is further provided on the dispensing systemconduit, a means for reducing turbulence in the incoming liquid.

The foregoing and other objectives of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is given below with reference to the following drawingsin which like reference devices refer to like parts thereof throughoutthe various view and diagrams and in which:

FIG. 1 is a cutaway upper perspective illustration of a liquid trapaccording to the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the liquid trap accordingto the present invention comprises essentially a cylindrical container10 which in the case of the normal automobile beverage dispensing systemmay be only a matter of 4 to 6 inches in height and l to 2 inches inwidth, and is made of relatively substantial gauge plastic, preferablyby injection moulding techniques or the like, whereby it is completelyresistent to implosion stresses induced by the vacuum. More or less nearits upper end, there is provided the angled semicircular baffle member11 moulded integrally with the container 10, and angled slightly towardsone end of container 10 for reasons to be described below. The upper endof container 10 is designated 12 and the lower end is designated as 13.

In order to close the lower end of container 10, and to provide aself-draining valve means, there is provided the two part end closureindicated by the general reference 14 which consists of the end capmember 15 having an upper circular rim portion 16 formed thereondesigned to fit tightly within container 10. The upper surface ofclosure 15, facing into container 10 is formed in an inverted conicalmanner to provide a funnel portion 17, at the bottom of which is thedrain hole 18. The underside of member 15 is provided with a downwardlydependent sleeve 19 defining an inner annular valve recess 20,communicating with drain hole 18 and having an upwardly directed angledvalve seat 21. A liquid flow passage 22 is provided to one side of valverecess 20, of a depth somewhat less than recess 20, for reasons to bedescribed. Within recess 20 a resilient valve flap or disc member 23 isprovided, being of such dimensions that it can move freely up and downwithin recess 20, and seat firmly on the angled valve seat portion 21.

In order to retain disc 23 within recess 20, there is provided agenerally flat disc-shaped retaining member 25 having a liquid outletopening 26 therethrough provided with a downwardly directed spigot 27,for connection to a drain pipe P. Retaining member 25 is of such a shapeand dimensions as to mate with end 13 of container 10 as shown and has amore or less annular groove 28 to receive sleeve 19 therein, whereby tolocate it in the correct orientation. In order to cause the valve discor flap member 23 to adopt a downwardly angled position when the valveis open, a generally circular raised platform portion 29 is provided onthe upwardly directed surface of member 25, of such dimensions as to fitwithin valve recess 20, and having an upper surface which is angledupwardly at one side, with respect to the transverse axis of member 25opposed to flow passage 22 whereby to cause the flap member 23 to movebetween open and closed positions in a swinging or tilting manner.

At the upper end of cylindrical container there is provided the vacuumconnection means adapted for connection to the vacuum line leading tothe inlet manifold of the automobile on the one side, and on the otherside, for connection to the dispensing head or console (not shown)arranged in the passenger compartment of the automobile. Such connectionmeans comprises the upper end fitting generally designated as 30 havinga reduced shoulder portion 31 shaped to fit within the interior ofcontainer 10, and being bonded therein by suitable adhesives, or solventmaterials, or by heat welding and the like. Connection member 30 isprovided with a liquid inlet chamber 32 having cylindrical sidewalls 33and provided at its upper end with liquid conduit 34 and connectionspigot 35 extending upwardly therefrom. Chamber 32 is of greatlyincreased size in relation to conduit 34 whereby to provide for freecirculation of incoming liquid from conduit 34 and at the same time toreduce the velocity thereof, prior to entering container 10. At thelower end of chamber 32 there is provided outlet grating member 36having a plurality of outlet holes 37 therein designed to deliver liquidfrom chamber 32 in a finely divided drops. Within chamber 32 there isprovided a strainer member 38 consisting of a generally cylindricalblock of porous spongelike foam plastic material for still furtherreducing the velocity of liquids flowing through chamber 32 whilepermitting free air flow.

Connection to the vacuum source such as the inlet manifold of theautomobile (not shown) is provided for by means of the valve chamber 40formed by cylindrical sidewalls 41 moulded integrally with connectionmember 30 and having at its lower end, a plug member 42 provided with anupper surface of flattened generally conical shape indicated as 43 and acentral air passageway 44 communicating with the interior of container10. Within chamber 40 there is provided a spherical closure member orball valve 45 of rubber or neoprene or like rubber material, having adiameter which is substantially reduced in relation to the interiordiameter of chamber 40 whereby to permit flow of air therearound, andbeing of predetermined mass in relation to its diameter whereby topermit the same to be suspended or supported approximately midway upchamber 40 during flow of air therethrough under normal operatingconditions of the system. At the upper end of chamber 40, there isprovided the hemispherical valve seat 46 having a contour designed tofit snugly around ball valve 45 and make a good hermetic seal therewith.Air conduit 47 communicates from valve seat 46 to connection spigot 48for connection of a suitable vacuum hose (not shown) thereto in knownmanner.

In operation, the liquid trap according to the invention, which asstated above is designed specifically in this preferred embodiment forincorporation in a vacuum operated liquid dispensing system in anautomobile, it is preferably mounted within the engine compartment of anautomobile by any suitable mounting bracket means (not shown). A vacuumhose (not shown) is connected by any suitable means to the inletmanifold of the automobile engine and is then fastened securely tospigot 48. A similar vacuum hose (not shown) is then connected to spigot35, and the other end thereof is connected to the dispensing system (notshown) within the passenger compartment of the automobile. A liquiddrain hose P is preferably connected to the spigot 27, and led down tothe lower portion of the engine compartment whereby to permit liquid toescape freely beneath the automobile. It will thus be seen that theinterior of container 10 is in direct communication with the inletmanifold of the automobile and is therefore evacuated to substantiallythe same reduced pressure as the inlet manifold of the automobile at alltimes while the engine is running. However, due to the reduced size ofcontainer 10, and the substantial thickness of the members of which itis constructed, there is of course no danger of implosion. As soon as apassenger in the automobile wishes to dispense liquid within thepassenger compartment, a valve (not shown) is operated by the passengerwhich causes liquid to be drawn into a cup by means of the vacuum withincontainer 10. Obviously, this involves the evacuation of a certainquantity of air within the cup, and also within the upper parts of thesystem, (not shown) and a certain quantity of air will be drawn inthrough conduit 34, chamber 32, and into container 10 and will thenimmediately pass through passageway 44 through chamber 40 and out ofconduit 47. The passage of such air takes place at such velocity, as tocause ball valve 45 to rise upwardly off the conical surface 43 of plugmember 42, but is calculated in such a manner as to be insufficient tocause ball valve 45 to rise all the way up chamber 40. Thus such air canflow more or less freely around ball 45 and into conduit 47 withoutobstruction. The air is of course drawn off by the vacuum in theinduction manifold of the automobile in known manner.

It will be understood that throughout this operation, the valve flapmember 23 is drawn firmly against the conical valve seat 21 closingdrain hole 18 whereby no air can be drawn into container 10 throughdrain hole 18.

This then described the ideal operating conditions of the system.

However, in practice, possibly due to changes in the vacuum in themanifold, or possibly by some misjudgment of the passenger, or for someother reason a certain quantity of liquid is withdrawn from the cupduring the filling operation, by means of the vacuum. Such liquid willof course be entrained with the air flowing from such cup and willimmediately pass through the same flow path as the air, that is to say,it will pass through conduit 34, and enter chamber 32. Obviously, anysuch liquid droplet or small quantity of liquid entering chamber 32 willbe travelling at a relatively high velocity, and the function of chamber32 is to reduce such velocity. This is achieved in part by the size ofchamber 32 which is of course substantially greater than the size ofconduit 34, and also by the porous sponge member 38 through which aircan pass freely, but which offers a certain resistence to the flow ofliquid therethrough. In effect the sponge 38 permits the air to bypassthe liquid and flow freely into container 10 thereby maintainingsubstantially equal pressures in both chamber 32 and container 10. Theliquid will then filter gradually through the sponge 38 more or lessunder the influence of gravity alone. The sponge 38 is of such a sizethat the entire airflow under normal operation can pass through only 10percent of the holes, the remaining percent of the holes being more thansufficient to accommodate the small quantity of liquid resulting fromeach operation. Once the liquid is passed through sponge 38 it is thenfree to pass through the multiple openings 37 in grating 36 under theinfluence of gravity and will drop into container 10 as fine droplets.In this way, any tendency for the liquid to create turbulence withincontainer 10 or to splash therein is eliminated. When the engine of theautomobile is switched off, the vacuum within container 10 will beterminated, and the pressure within container 10 will, within a veryshort interval, stabilize to atmospheric pressure, at which point theweight of liquid accumulated within the container 10 will cause flapmember 23 to move downwardly within valve recess 20, thereby permittingthe liquid within container 10 to flow through drain hole 18, throughthe passageway 22, and into conduit 26. When the engine is startedagain, the force applied by the vacuum within container 10 will againcause flap member 23 to swing upwardly and make sealing engagement onvalve seat 21 thereby permitting the system to continue to operate asbefore.

In the event thatfor some reason an excessive quantity of liquid shouldaccumulate in container 10, or if for example due to movement of theautomobile, a certain quantity of liquid should be splashed upwardly andpass around baffle 11, it will enter opening 44. The diameter and lengthof opening 44 in plug 42 is designed and engineered that although itwill provide free flow of air therethrough under all normal operatingconditions, when a single droplet of water or other liquid attempts topass through such opening 44, its passage pressure within valve chamber40 is reduced substantially below that within container 10, and suchadditional pressure reduction will upset the equilibrium of ball valve45 which will then immediately cause it to rise upwardly within chamber40, and to seat securely on the valve seat 46. As soon as this takesplace, container is no longer in communication with the vacuum in theinlet manifold of the automobile and the liquid within container 10 willbe free to flow out through opening 18. So long as the automobile enginecontinues to run, the ball valve 45 will remain on its seat 46 and willprevent the entire system from being operated. However, as soon as theautomobile engine is switched off, the vacuum within conduit 47 willalso be lost and the ball valve 45 will fall from seat 46 and rest onplug 42 once more and then be ready for operation as described aboveonce more.

Obviously, this minor inconvenience to the passengers in the automobilecan be overcome by the use of an additional control valve in the vacuumhose connected between spigot 48 and the automobile inlet manifold,although it is considered that the additional cost involved is notworthwhile in most cases. It will be understood that the inadvertentclosure of ball valve 45 onto seat 46 will be highly unusual inpractice. The engineering of the entire liquid trap unit is based uponthe normal usage of an automobile which is seldom driven nonstop for adistance of much more than 200 miles, with a total passenger complimentof four people. The liquid droplets entrained as a result of thedispensing of a single cup of beverage comprise only fractions of anounce, and the container 10, while being of quite small volume, isdesigned to accommodate the liquid droplets resulting from thedispensing of 20 or more cups of beverage. It is estimated that therewill seldom, if ever, be occasions on which 20 or more cups of beverageare dispensed within a single journey with the automobile being stopped,and the ignition switched off, either for refilling of gasoline, or forsome other reason.

Obviously however the engineering criteria which hold good in the caseof automobile design will vary in the case of designs for use in othertypes of transportation such as for example, armored vehicles, navalvessels or air craft and the like.

The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is given here by way of example only. The invention isnot to be taken as limited to any of the specific features as described,but comprehends all such variations thereof as come within the scope ofthe appended claims.

lclaima 1. Liquid trap apparatus for use in association with a vacuumsystem and comprising:

a chamber adapted to be subjected to reduced pressures;

air inlet port means communicating with said chamber and adapted to beconnected into said vacuum system;

an inlet airflow conduit communicating between said inlet port and saidchamber;

liquid flow velocity reduction means within said chamber to reduce thevelocity and droplet size of liquid droplets entrained with air enteringsaid chamber;

outlet port means communicating with said chamber and adapted to beconnected to said vacuum system;

an outlet valve housing having upper and lower ends in direct gravityflow liquid communication with said chamber;

valve seat means at said housing upper end and defining an air outletopening;

a valve closure member within said housingmovable upward and downward insaid housing between closed and open positions to close and open saidair outlet opening, said housing, when said valve closure member is inits upper position, being open for direct gravity flow of liquid thereininto said chamber;

valve support means at said lower end of said outlet valve housing; airpassageway means at said lower end of said outlet valvehousiggfpommunicating with interior of said chamber; liquid b e meanswlthm said chamber directly beneath and spaced below said outlet valvehousing in registration with said air passageway means to deflect liquiddroplets from entering said passageway means; and,

automatic drain means for said chamber operable to release liquidtherefrom upon termination of said reduced pressure in said chamber.

2. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said valvehousing is of predetermined width and height, and wherein said valveclosure member is of spherical shape of predetermined diameter and mass,arranged to permit free flow of air or the like around said closuremember within said housing, while being responsive to entry of liquidwithin said housing, to move upwardly therein and make sealingengagement with said valve seat.

3. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid drainmeans includes a generally concave-shaped drain recessed at the lowerend of said chamber, and a drain hole at the lower most point of saiddrain surface, and valve means automatically closing said drain hole inresponse to the vacuum in said chamber.

4. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including a liquid drainvalve chamber of predetermined height and width, and in communicationthrough an opening with said chamber, a valve seat around said drainopening in said valve chamber, and a valve closure member movablebetween upper and lower positions within said chamber of predetermineddimensions andmass, the weight and size of said valve member beingarranged to cause said valve member to move into its upper position insealing engagement with said valve seat in response to evacuation ofsaid chamber, and liquid outlet means at a lower portion of said valvechamber.

5. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said valve seatis arranged in a predetermined plane at the upper end of said valvechamber and wherein the lower end of said valve chamber is arranged in aplane angled relative to the plane of said valve seat.

6. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 4 including a liquid flowchannel formed at one side of said valve chamber, and a liquid drainconduit formed in the lower end of said valve chamber in registrationwith said flow channel.

7. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid flowreduction means comprises a plug of porous material fastened within saidinlet liquid flow conduit, said plug permitting free flow of airtherethrough, while restricting flow of liquid therethrough.

8. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said chambercomprises a substantially cylindrical tubular member, a generallydisc-shaped upper closure member for said chamber, said inlet and outletport means being formed integrally therewith side by side alongsubstantially parallel axes, and wherein said outlet valve housing isformed integrally with said upper closure member and depends downwardlyinto said chamber; and

wherein said automatic drain means includes a generally disc-shapedconcave drain member fitting snugly within the lower end of saidchamber, and having a drain hole at the lowermost point thereof, andincluding a downwardly dependent drain valve housing formed integrallywith said drain member and located within said chamber, and generallydisc-shaped lower closure member for the lower end of said chambermating with said downwardly dependent drain valve housing, and sealingand enclosing said drain member and drain valve housing within saidchamber.

1. Liquid trap apparatus for use in association with a vacuum system andcomprising: a chamber adapted to be subjected to reduced pressures; airinlet port means communicating with said chamber and adapted to beconnected into said vacuum system; an inlet airflow conduitcommunicating between said inlet port and said chamber; liquid flowvelocity reduction means within said chamber to reduce the velocity anddroplet size of liquid droplets entrained with air entering saidchamber; outlet port means communicating with said chamber and adaptedto be connected to said vacuum system; an outlet valve housing havingupper and lower ends in direct gravity flow liquid communication withsaid chamber; valve seat means at said housing upper end and defining anair outlet opening; a valve closure member within said housing movableupward and downward in said housing between closed and open positions toclose and open said air outlet opening, said housing, when said valveclosure member is in its upper position, being open for direct gravityflow of liquid therein into said chamber; valve support means at saidlower end of said outlet valve housing; air passageway means at saidlower end of said outlet valve housing communicating with interior ofsaid chamber; liquid baffle means within said chamber directly beneathand spaced below said outlet valve housing in registration with said airpassageway means to deflect liquid droplets from entering saidpassageway means; and, automatic drain means for said chamber operableto release liquid therefrom upon termination of said reduced pressure insaid chamber.
 2. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid valve housing is of predetermined width and height, and whereinsaid valve closure member is of spherical shape of predetermineddiameter and mass, arranged to permit free flow of air or the likearound said closure member within said housing, while being responsiveto entry of liquid within said housing, to move upwardly therein andmake sealing engagement with said valve seat.
 3. Liquid trap apparatusas claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid drain means includes agenerally concave-shaped drain recessed at the lower end of saidchamber, and a drain hole at the lower most point of said drain surface,and valve means automatically closing said drain hole in response to thevacuum in said chamber.
 4. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 1including a liquid drain valve chamber of predetermined height andwidth, and in communication through an opening with said chamber, avalve seat around said drain opening in said valve chamber, and a valveclosure member movable between upper and lower positions within saidchamber of predetermined dimensions and mass, the weight and size ofsaid valve member being arranged to cause said valve member to move intoits upper position in sealing engagement with said valve seat inresponse to evacuation of said chamber, and liquid outlet means at alower portion of said valve chamber.
 5. Liquid trap apparatus as claimedin claim 4 wherein said valve seat is arranged in a predetermined planeat the upper eNd of said valve chamber and wherein the lower end of saidvalve chamber is arranged in a plane angled relative to the plane ofsaid valve seat.
 6. Liquid trap apparatus as claimed in claim 4including a liquid flow channel formed at one side of said valvechamber, and a liquid drain conduit formed in the lower end of saidvalve chamber in registration with said flow channel.
 7. Liquid trapapparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid flow reduction meanscomprises a plug of porous material fastened within said inlet liquidflow conduit, said plug permitting free flow of air therethrough, whilerestricting flow of liquid therethrough.
 8. Liquid trap apparatus asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said chamber comprises a substantiallycylindrical tubular member, a generally disc-shaped upper closure memberfor said chamber, said inlet and outlet port means being formedintegrally therewith side by side along substantially parallel axes, andwherein said outlet valve housing is formed integrally with said upperclosure member and depends downwardly into said chamber; and whereinsaid automatic drain means includes a generally disc-shaped concavedrain member fitting snugly within the lower end of said chamber, andhaving a drain hole at the lowermost point thereof, and including adownwardly dependent drain valve housing formed integrally with saiddrain member and located within said chamber, and generally disc-shapedlower closure member for the lower end of said chamber mating with saiddownwardly dependent drain valve housing, and sealing and enclosing saiddrain member and drain valve housing within said chamber.